batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3379-l3394
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l3379-l3394
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FARMER AND THE VIPER / THE TWO FROGS / THE COBBLER TURNED DOCTOR / THE
ASS, THE COCK, AND THE LION; lines 3379-3394
start: '3379'
end: '3394'
translation: Aesop's Fables; a new translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: An Ass and a Cock are together in a cattle-pen. A starving Lion approaches
and is about to attack the Ass, but the Cock crows loudly and frightens the Lion
away. The Ass becomes overconfident, pursues the fleeing Lion, and, once away
from the Cock, is turned upon and eaten. The stated moral is that false confidence
often leads to disaster.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An Ass and a Cock are together in a cattle-pen.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A Lion that has been starving for days approaches and is about to attack the
Ass.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Cock rises, flaps his wings, and crows loudly.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Lion is frightened by the Cock’s crowing and flees.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The Ass becomes elated and concludes that the Lion will be even less able
to face an Ass than a Cock.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The Ass runs out and pursues the Lion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Once the Ass and Lion are out of sight and hearing of the Cock, the Lion turns
on the Ass and eats him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage ends with the moral that false confidence often leads to disaster.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ass
description: An Ass kept in the cattle-pen with the Cock; almost attacked by the
Lion, then overconfidently pursues him and is eaten.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Cock
description: A Cock in the cattle-pen who rises, flaps his wings, and crows loudly,
frightening the Lion away.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lion
description: A starving Lion who approaches to eat the Ass, flees at the Cock’s
crowing, and later turns back and eats the Ass.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: intended prey
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Lion is about to fall upon the Ass and make a meal of him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: frightening caller
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Cock’s vigorous wing-flapping and tremendous crow cause the Lion to flee.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: starving predator
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Lion has been starving for days and seeks to eat the Ass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: overconfident pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Ass, elated by the Lion’s flight, pursues him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: victim of false confidence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Ass’s pursuit ends when the Lion turns on him and eats him; the moral
names false confidence as the cause of disaster.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: returning attacker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: After getting away from the Cock, the Lion turns upon the Ass and eats him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cock-crow
literal_form: The Cock’s tremendous crow
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: cattle-pen
literal_form: The cattle-pen where the Ass and Cock are together
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Animals in the cattle-pen
summary: The Ass and the Cock are together in a cattle-pen.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Cock frightens the Lion
summary: A starving Lion approaches the Ass, but the Cock crows loudly and the Lion
flees.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Ass pursues and is eaten
summary: The Ass mistakes the Lion’s fear of the Cock for general weakness, pursues
the Lion, and is eaten once separated from the Cock.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: false confidence leads to disaster
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Ass draws a mistaken conclusion from the Lion’s fear of the Cock, pursues
him, and is eaten; the moral explicitly identifies false confidence as disastrous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is the passage’s explicit moral rather than a taxonomy-linked mythic
motif.
- id: motif:2
label: weak-seeming animal frightens predator by sound
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Cock’s crow frightens the starving Lion and prevents the attack on the
Ass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents this as a fable incident; no broader comparative
link is stated in the supplied text.
- id: motif:3
label: pursuer becomes prey
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Ass pursues the Lion, but the Lion turns upon him and eats him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The wording supports the pattern within this episode, but no external
comparison is supplied.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3379-3380
quote_or_summary: The title identifies the fable as “THE ASS, THE COCK, AND THE
LION,” and the Ass and Cock are together in a cattle-pen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 3380-3383
quote_or_summary: A Lion, starving for days, comes along and is about to attack
the Ass; the Cock rises, flaps his wings, and gives a loud crow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 3384-3386
quote_or_summary: The passage states that a Lion is frightened by a Cock’s crowing,
and this Lion flees when he hears it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 3387-3389
quote_or_summary: The Ass is elated and reasons that a Lion unable to face a Cock
will be even less likely to stand against an Ass, so he pursues the Lion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 3390-3392
quote_or_summary: When the Ass and Lion are beyond the Cock’s sight and hearing,
the Lion turns on the Ass and eats him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: '3394'
quote_or_summary: "“False confidence often leads to disaster.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The narrative sequence and explicit moral are clear. Motif labels are descriptive
and not linked to external taxonomy except where no suitable provided taxonomy
applies. No comparison claims are made because the supplied passage does not support
historical or cross-textual comparison.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the supplied passage text was used; although the locator label lists several fables, the extraction covers the included text of “THE ASS, THE COCK, AND THE LION.”
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l3379-l3394
passage_sha256=1fb5d2b4efe02735624337da53d02aff1314fe032ea36d15b64f800bfe5d4e8b